y 


SAMUEL     WOOD 

[1760-1844] 

FOUNDER    OF    THE    HOUSE    OF    WILLIAM    WOOD    AND    COMPANY 


One  Hundred  Years 

of  Publishing 

[1804-1904] 

A   Brief  Historical  Account 
of  the  House  of 

William  Wood  and  Company 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW    YORK 

WILLIAM    WOOD    AND   COMPANY 
MDCCCCIV 


COPYRIGHT,  1904,   BY 
WILLIAM    WOOD    AND    COMPANY 


One  Hundred  Years  of 
Publishing 

WHEN  a  business  house  has  had  an  un- 
interrupted existence  for  a  hundred  years 
it  is  pardonable  that  its  members  should 
feel  a  certain   pride  in  the  fact,  and  considering 
that  the   management   has  during  that    time   re- 
mained solely  in    the   hands   of  one  family,  the 
event  is   sufficiently  unusual   to  justify  the  pub- 
lication of  a  brief  account  of  it. 

The  firm  of  WILLIAM  WOOD  AND  COMPANY  is, 
with  the  single  exception  of  the  Methodist  Book 
Concern,  the  oldest  publishing  house  in  New 
York.  The  business  was  founded  early  in  the 
year  1 804  by  Samuel  Wood,  grandfather  of  the 
present  senior  partner,  and  great  grandfather  of 
the  junior  members  of  the  firm.  Samuel  Wood 
was  born  at  Oyster  Bay,  Long  Island,  on  July 
iyth,  1760.  Until  forty  years  of  age  he  taught 


1251295 


One    Hundred    Tears 


school,  living  at  several  places,  including  Hemp- 
stead,  Long  Island,  Hibernia  Mills  and  New 
Rochelle.  Finding  that  school  teaching  could 
not  produce  a  sufficient  income  for  the  needs  of 
his  family,  he  determined  to  embark  in  the  busi- 
ness of  bookselling,  and  moved  to  New  York 
City  in  December,  1803.  His  first  place  of  busi- 
ness was  at  362,  Pearl  Street,  then  the  centre  of 
the  book  trade  in  New  York,  where,  in  the  year 
1804,  he  opened  a  small  store  for  the  sale  of  mis- 
cellaneous books,  mostly  second-hand.  Much 
of  his  stock  was  purchased  at  the  auction  sales  of 
Robert  McMennony,  then  held  at  the  corner  of 
Wall  and  Water  streets,  opposite  the  Tontine 
Coffee  House.  Paper  stock  and  stationery  were 
also  sold,  and  for  a  time  cotton  goods,  consigned 
by  Almy  &  Brown,  of  Providence,  were  sold  on 
commission,  but  proving  unprofitable  were  dis- 
carded. 

Samuel  Wood  soon  installed  a  small  printing 
plant  in  the  rear  of  his  store,  and  began  the  pub- 
lication of  a  long  series  of  primers  and  juvenile 
booklets.  Believing  most  of  the  children's  books 
of  the  day  to  be  unsuited  to  youthful  readers  he 


of    Publishing 


endeavored  to  remedy  their  defects,  compiling 
and  writing  many  of  them  himself.  They  were 
illustrated  with  copper-plate  engravings,  both 


SAMUEL    WOOD 
(From  an  Original  India-ink  Draining  by  Dr.  A  lexander  A  nderson) 

plain  and  hand-colored,  and  a  little  later  with 
wood-engravings  by  Dr.  Alexander  Anderson,  the 
"  father  of  American  wood  engraving,"  whose 
earliest  work  is  found  in  these  little  books. 


One    Hundred    Tears 


Samuel  Wood  was  accustomed  to  carry  his  pock- 
ets full  of  them,  and  to  give  them  to  children 
whom  he  met. 


SAMUEL    S.    WOOD 


The  first  publication  was  a  little  primer,  called 
"  The  Young  Child's  A  B  C,  or  First  Book." 
It  contained  16  pages,  and  was  about  three  inches 
square.  The  imprint  is  :  New  York  |  Samuel 
Wood  |  362  Pearl  Street  1  1806. 


of    Publishing 


THE 

YOUNG- CHILD'S 


A 


OR, 

FIRST  BOOK. 


C, 


PUBLISHED  BY  SAMUEL  WOOD, 

NO.  362  FEAKL-5THEET. 
1806. 


FACSIMILE     OF     TITLE     PAGE     OF     FIRST 
PUBLICATION 


One    Hundred    Tears 


In  1810  Samuel  Wood  moved  to  a  larger  store 
at  357,  Pearl  Street,  nearly  opposite  his  first  place 
of  business.  In  1 8 1 5  he  took  into  partnership  two 
of  his  sons,  Samuel  S.  and  John,  and  the  firm  style 


WILLIAM     WOOD 


of  Samuel  Wood  &  Sons  was  adopted.  A  period- 
ical called  The  Friend  of  Peace,  issued  under  the 
auspices  of  the  New  York  Quarterly  Meeting  of 
Friends  (Quakers),was  published  at  about  this  time. 


of    Publishing 

An  agency  of  Samuel  Wood  &  Sons  was  es- 
tablished in  1818  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  at  212, 
Market  Street  by  Samuel  S.  Wood,  and  the 
double  imprint  is  found  on  the  publications  of 
the  house  for  several  years  following.  Baltimore 
in  those  days  enjoyed  a  commercial  importance 
much  greater  proportionately  than  now,  but  the 
venture  was  not  a  success  and  was  shortly 
abandoned. 

Samuel  Wood  &  Sons  moved  once  more,  in 
1817,  to  261,  Pearl  Street,  a  property  owned  by 
Samuel  Wood,  and  another  son,  William  Wood, 
was  admitted  to  partnership,  John  Wood  retiring. 
The  business  had  steadily  increased  from  the 
original  trade  in  miscellaneous  and  second-hand 
books  to  the  publication  and  general  sale,  both 
wholesale  and  retail,  of  books  and  general  sta- 
tionery. The  "New  York  Readers,"  a  series  of 
primers,  spellers  and  readers  (many  of  them  orig- 
inally compiled  by  Samuel  Wood  himself)  were 
for  many  years  favorite  text-books,  and  up  to  a 
comparatively  recent  time  were  still  published  in 
Philadelphia  by  Claxton,  Remsen  &  Haffelfinger, 
to  whom  the  plates  had  been  sold. 


One    Hundred    Tears 


The  new  quarters 
being  soon  out- 
grown, the  business 
was  removed  to 
temporary  accom- 
modations on  Ful- 
ton Street,  while  a 
substantial  five- 
story  building  was 
erected  at  261,  Pearl 
Street.  This  build- 
ing is  standing  to- 
day, occupied  by  S. 
M.  Aikman  &  Co., 
dealers  in  lanterns; 
when  first  built  it 
was  considered  large 
quarters  to  be  occu- 
pied entirely  by  a 


26l,    PEARL   STREET 

1817-1856  William     Wood, 

from  the  time  of  his  admission  to  the  firm,  was 
especially  interested  in  medical  works,  and  under 
his  influence  particular  attention  was  paid  to  this 


of    Publishing 


class  of  publications. 
Results  justified  this 
interest,  and  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the 
new  place  was  soon 
devoted  to  them. 
The  store  became  the 
resort  of  the  noted 
physicians  of  the  day 
— such  men  as  Drs. 
Mott,  Francis,  Ste- 
vens, Mitchell,  Hos- 
ack,  and  others.  The 
medical  book  can- 
vasser was  then  un- 
known— he  was  not 
to  appear  for  another 
fifty  years — and  phy- 
sicians were  accus- 
tomed to  "  drop  in  "  ^  BROADWAY 
frequently  to  examine  1856-1861 
the  new  books,  nearly  all  of  them  imported  from 
England.  American  medical  literature  had  not 
then  been  born. 


One    Hundred    Tears 


In  1836  Samuel  S.  and  William  Wood  bought 
out  the  interest  of  their  father,  Samuel  Wood, 
and  he  retired  from  business,  the  firm  becoming 
Samuel  S.  &  William  Wood.  For  the  rest  of 
his  life  Samuel  Wood  devoted  himself  to  the 
public  charities  which  had  always  interested  him. 
He  had  taken  an  active  part  in  founding  the 
House  of  Refuge,  the  Bank  for  Savings,  and  the 
Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Pauperism.  The 
credit  for  the  foundation  of  the  New  York  In- 
stitution for  the  Blind  is  due  to  him  and  to  Dr. 
Samuel  L.  Ackerly.  He  was  an  active  member 
of  the  Society  of  the  New  York  Hospital,  the 
Manumission  Society,  and  other  benevolent  in- 
stitutions. He  died  on  May  5th,  1844. 

In  1856  the  firm  removed  to  389,  Broadway,  a 
three-story  brick  building,  the  ground  floor  of 
which  was  used  as  a  salesroom. 

About  this  time  some  novel  means  of  adver- 
tising were  employed.  One  method  extensively 
used  was  the  supplying  of  steamboat  tickets  to 
the  various  lines  running  from  New  York  City, 
the  advertisement  of  the  house  being  printed 
upon  the  reverse  of  the  ticket  as  the  considera- 


of    Publishing 

tion.     Tickets    were    regularly    supplied    to    the 
steamboats  Mary  Powell^  Thomas  Powell^   Cata- 


TO  BE  RETURNED  WHEN  CALLED  FOR 


WILLIAM   WOOD, 

(Late  S.  S.  &  W.  WOOD,) 


.  61  AVAlili.'EU  S 

OST  IE  "W  -  "X"  O  XCBI  - 

W.  W.  offers  a  large  stock  of  SCHOOL,  MEDICAL  &  BLANK  BOOKS, 
and  STATIONERY,  NOTE,  LETTBE  &  (XtpPArana,  Ac.  on  the  most  favori 
able  terms. 
Country  Merchants  particularly  are  Invited  to  call. 


STEAMBOAT    TICKET,    WITH    ADVERTISEMENT 
ON     REVERSE    SIDE 

llne^  Oregon^  and  others.     (A  modern  instance  of 
a  similar  practice  will  readily  occur  to  every  one.) 


One    Hundred    Tears 


In  1 86 1  Samuel  S. 
Wood  died,  leaving 
William  Wood  alone 
in  the  business.  For 
something  more  than 
a  year  William  Wood 
conducted  the  business 
under  his  own  name, 
removing  to  6 1 ,  Walker 
Street.  In  1863  he 
took  into  partnership 
his  son,  William  H.  S. 
Wood,  the  present 
head  of  the  house. 
The  style  William 
Wood  &  Company 
was  then  adopted,  and 
has  since  been  retained. 

From  the  time  of 
-'*•  his  admission  to  the 

01,    WALKER     STREET 

1861-1872  firm  Wm.  H.  S.  Wood 

advocated  further  specialization  in  the  direction  of 
medical  publications,  and  proceeded,  with  char- 
acteristic energy  and  good  judgment,  to  develop 


of    Publishing 

the  business  in  this  line.  The  wholesale  handling 
of  general  stationery  supplies  was  abandoned,  as 
was  also  the  sale  of  religious  and  miscellaneous 
literature,  and  scientific  and  medical  publications 
became  the  chief  concern  of  the  house.  Numer- 
ous medical  books  by  American  authors  were 
published,  while  a  complete  stock  of  medical  lit- 
erature in  the  English  language  was  carried,  and 
sold  at  wholesale  and  retail. 

In  1865  Mr.  Wood  conceived  the  idea  of 
starting  a  medical  journal,  to  be  conducted  in  the 
best  interests  of  the  medical  profession  in  Ameri- 
ca, availing  of  modern  methods  as  regards  news, 
and  printing  matter  of  general  as  well  as  purely 
scientific  medical  interest.  Dr.  George  F.  Shrady 
was  secured  as  editor,  and  the  first  number  of  the 
Medical  Record  appeared  on  March  ist,  1866. 
It  was  at  first  published  semi-monthly,  but  soon 
changed  to  a  weekly,  and  its  sixty-five  volumes 
are  a  history  of  medicine  in  America  for  the  past 
thirty-eight  years.  To  Dr.  Shrady  is  due  the 
honor  of  having  been  its  sole  editor  continuously 
to  July  of  the  present  year — a  longer  term  of 
service  than  that  of  any  other  editor  of  a  medical 


One    Hundred    Tears 


journal  in  America.  To  his  ability  and  good 
judgment  the  high  standing  and  position  of  the 
Medical  Record  among  the  medical  profession  is 
due.  He  resigned  his  position  July  ist,  1904,  and 
is  succeeded  by  Thomas  L.  Stedman,  M.D.,  who 
has  for  many  years  past  held  the  positions  of 
assistant  and  associate  editor. 

The  American  Journal  of  Obstetrics  and  Diseases 
of  Women  and  Children,  originally  founded  by  Dr. 
Benjamin  F.  Dawson  in  1869,  was  purchased  by 
the  house,  and  for  many  years  was  under  the  able 
editorship  of  Dr.  Paul  F.  Munde,  and  since  his 
retirement,  in  1891,  of  Dr.  Brooks  H.  Wells. 

A  pharmaceutical  trade  journal,  New  Remedies, 
was  started  in  1872,  edited  by  Dr.  F.  A.  Castle 
and  Mr.  Charles  Rice,  both  now  deceased.  The 
name  of  this  paper  was  changed,  in  1884,  to  the 
American  Druggist.  It  was  sold  to  its  present  pub- 
lishers in  1892.  Several  other  medical  journals 
of  less  importance  and  principally  of  a  special 
character  have  at  various  times  been  published. 

William  Wood  retired  from  active  business  in 
1868,  thereafter  spending  most  of  his  time  at  his 
country  place  at  Mount  Kisco,  until  his  death, 
on  April  gth,  1877. 


of    Publishing 


In  1872  the  firm 
moved  once  more  to 
the  iron-front  building 
at  27,  Great  Jones  St. 

On  the  retirement 
of  William  Wood,  in 
1868,  Wm.  H.  S. 
Wood  took  into  part- 
nership Isaac  F.Wood, 
also  a  grandson  of 
Samuel  Wood,  and  Al- 
fred S.  Griffiths,  who 
for  some  years  had 
been  "  head  clerk  "  ; 
the  only  member  of 
the  firm  at  any  time 
who  was  not  a  Wood 
and  a  member  of  the 
family.  Isaac  F. 
Wood's  interest  was 
bought  out  at  the  end 
of  three  years.  Mr. 
Griffiths'  interest  was  bought  out  in  i 

In  i  88 1    the  retail  and  jobbing  department  was 


27,    GREAT   JONES    STREET 
1872-1882 


One    Hundred    Tears 


sold  to  Joseph   H.  Vail,  who  had  been  in  charge 
of  that  branch  of  the  business  for  many  years,  and 


56    AND     58,    LAFAYETTE     PLACE 
1882-1892 


the  house  has  since  that  time  confined  its  opera- 
tions entirely  to  the  sale  of  its  own  publications. 


of    Publishing 

The  place  of  business  was  moved  once  more  in 
1882  to  the  old  Langdon  mansion  at  56  and  58^ 
Lafayette  Place,  where  for  ten  years  the  firm  had 


43,    45,    AND    47,    EAST   TENTH    STREET 
1892-1899 

what  were  probably  the  handsomest  offices  occu- 
pied by  any  publishing  house  in  this  country. 
The  business  removed  in  1892  to  quarters  in  the 
building  at  Nos.  43,  45,  and  47,  East  Tenth 


One    Hundred    Tears 


Street.      In   1899  still  another  move  was  made  to 
the  old  White  residence,  No.  51,  Fifth  Avenue, 


51,     FIFTH    AVENUE — PRESENT    TIME 

at   the   southeast   corner   of  Twelfth  Street,    the 
quarters  now  occupied. 


of    Publishing 

The  firm  at  the  present  time  is  composed  of 
William  H.  S.  Wood,  and  his  three  sons.  These 
were  admitted  to  partnership — William  C.  Wood 


WILLIAM     H.    S.    WOOD 


in  1890;  Gilbert  C.  Wood  in  1892,  and  Arnold 
Wood  in  1896.  For  nearly  twenty  years  Mr. 
David  S.  Taber  has  been  cashier  and  confidential 
clerk. 


One    Hundred    Tears 


A  few  words  regarding  the  more  important 
publications  of  the  house  may  not  be  amiss. 

In  the  earlier  years  a  large  number  of  books  on 
religious  subjects  were  published.  The  first  Amer- 
ican edition  of  Fox's  "  Book  of  Martyrs"  (1810) 
had  nearly  five  thousand  subscribers  before  pub- 
lication, their  names  all  duly  listed  in  the  back  of 
the  volume,  as  was  customary  at  the  time. 

The  publication  of  Brown's  Series  of  English 
Grammars  was  begun  in  1823,  and  is  still  con- 
tinued. For  the  space  of  two  generations  these 
books  were  the  standard  grammars,  and  were 
used  almost  exclusively.  Curiously  enough,  the 
trend  of  modern  methods  is  beginning  to  turn 
again  to  classic  style  in  teaching,  and  Brown's 
Grammars  are  still  amongst  the  most  popular 
text-books  upon  the  subject. 

The  most  important  medical  publication  in 
earlier  days  was  Mott's  "  Velpeau's  Surgery,"  in 
three  ponderous  volumes  and  quarto  Atlas, 
under  date  of  1847. 

In  1874  the  house  commenced  the  publication 
of  the  largest  medical  work  hitherto  issued  in  the 
English  language,  a  translation  of  Ziemssen's 


of   Publishing 

"  Cyclopedia  of  the  Practice  of  Medicine,"  in 
twenty-two  royal  octavo  volumes.  By  special 
arrangement  with  the  German  publishers,  ad- 
vance sheets  were  sent  to  this  country  and  trans- 


WILLIAM     C.    WOOD 


lated  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  Albert  H. 
Buck.  This  great  collection  of  treatises  marked 
the  most  important  advance  in  the  history  ot 
medicine  up  to  this  time.  In  another  way  the 


One    Hundred    Tears 


series  was  remarkable,  in  that  it  was  sold  only 
by  subscription,  being  the  first  medical  work  to 
be  marketed  in  this  way  either  here  or  abroad. 
Through  a  systematically  organized  canvass  the 
work  was  offered  to  the  medical  profession  not 
only  in  the  United  States,  but  also  to  English- 
speaking  physicians  throughout  the  world.  It 
had  a  very  remarkable  success. 

But  more  than  any  previous  enterprise,  the 
publication  of  Wood's  Library  of  Standard  Medi- 
cal Authors  marked  decisively  the  inauguration 
of  subscription  methods  of  bookselling  as  applied 
to  medical  works.  The  series  was  begun  on  Jan- 
uary ist,  1879,  and  involved  the  monthly  issue 
of  important  cloth-bound  octavo  medical  books, 
in  yearly  sets  of  twelve  volumes.  The  issue  of 
these  series  was  continued  for  eight  years,  and 
their  sale  was  enormous.  The  idea  was  at  once 
adapted  by  other  publishers  to  various  lines 
of  popular  and  professional  literature  with  equal 
success. 

In  1888  was  begun  the  publication  of  the  "  In- 
ternational Encyclopedia  of  Surgery,"  in  seven 
royal  octavo  volumes,  edited  by  Dr.  John  Ash- 

26 


of   Publishing 

hurst,  Jr.  This  work  marked  the  commence- 
ment of  international  co-operation  by  American 
writers  in  the  production  of  medical  and  surgical 
literature,  and  did  much  to  place  America  on  a 


GILBERT     C.    WOOD 


plane  with    European  countries  in  scientific  ad- 
vancement in  these  branches. 

The  "  Reference   Handbook    of  the    Medical 
Sciences,"  edited  by  Dr.  Albert  H.  Buck,  consist- 


One    Hundred    Tears 


ing  of  eight  imperial  octavo  volumes,  was  pub- 
lished during  the  years  from  1885  to  1889,  fol- 
lowed by  a  supplementary  volume  in  1893.  This 
work  was  an  encyclopedic  dictionary  of  medical 


ARNOLD     WOOD 


•and  allied  topics,  consisting  of  short  essays,  and 
was  profusely  illustrated.  It  was  without  ques- 
tion the  most  popular  large  medical  publication 
ever  produced  in  any  country. 


of    Publishing 

The  "Twentieth  Century  Practice  of  Medi- 
cine," in  twenty  large  octavo  volumes,  edited  by 
Dr.  Thomas  L.  Stedman,  was  begun  in  1895  and 
completed  in  1901.  It  consisted  of  monographic 
treatises  on  all  the  special  topics  properly  em- 
braced by  the  domain  of  general  medicine,  writ- 
ten by  world  authorities  in  the  various  branches. 

A  second  edition  of  the  "  Reference  Hand- 
book," almost  completely  rewritten  and  bringing 
the  work  up  to  date,  has  been  completed  by  the 
publication  of  the  eighth  volume,  in  the  present 
year. 

A  great  number  of  works,  mostly  octavos,  upon 
the  various  topics  included  under  the  general 
term  "  medicine,"  have  been  issued  by  the  house 
— treatises,  text-books,  manuals,  and  essays.  To 
look  back  for  but  a  few  years  is  to  realize  with 
how  much  better  cause  we  of  to-day  can  echo  the 
proverb  as  to  "making  many  books." 

w.  c.  w. 


UC  SOUTHERN I  H^ONAUJBRAR 


A    000093093     3 


